Combination lock



Dec. 3, 1968 B. e. HARRELL 3,413,828

COMBINATION LOCK Filed June 6, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 L /9 ism 56 01/146??? I Z/ 45 45 I 3&5 4 ##EPHA M, Maw

Dec. 3, 1968 B. G. HARRELL 3,413,828

COMBINATION LOCK Filed June 6, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 .56 46 42 /3 m 1 111mm 3,413,828 COMBINATION LOCK 130!) G. Harrell, St. Louis County, Mo., assignor to .Iackes-Evans Manufacturing Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Filed June 6, 1966, Ser. No. 555,319 Claims. (Cl. 7025) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A combination lock with an arrangement of tumblers which are constructed to speed up the operation of the lock combination for unlocking the shackle, and resilient means which is energized upon the movement of the shackle into locked position for moving the tumblers to initiate the energization of the resilient means which will then release its energy to scramble the usual gate alignment of the tumblers.

This invention relates to improvements in combination locks.

In a combination lock the usual mechanism requires a certain procedure for setting up the tumblers in order to release the shackle. A dial is provided for actuating the tumblers and, as indicated, the usual construction requires turning the dial a predetermined number of turns in opposite directions. This is a time consuming operation. especially for people who desire to spend the least possible time dialing the combination in order to open the lock.

It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention to provide a combination lock with an improved organization of parts and components which will greatly speed up the time for manipulating the dial to open the lock.

It is a further important object of the present invention to simplify the components of a combination lock for more rapid production at reduced cost and to reduce the wear between moving parts.

Another object of the present invention resides in the improvement of the design and action of the tumblers in a combination lock.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be set forth hereinafter in the description relating to the several views in the accompanying drawings, wherein;

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a preferred combination lock embodying the features and advantages of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a greatly enlarged elevational view looking into the combination lock case with certain of the components partially assembled and others removed for the purpose of disclosing the details;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing certain components added to the assembly;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the tumblers coordinated and the shackle in open positron;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 with the shackle partly closed;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the dial and bezel showing one of the tumblers;

FIG. 7 is a view taken at line 7-7 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view at line 88 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary view of a combination lock of the prior art and is included herein for a purpose to appear; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the trip spring for the present lock.

nited States Patent 0 Referring now to FIG. 1, it is observed that the combination lock assembly 10 includes a case 11 in which the tumblers and operating parts are mounted. The case 11 is closed by a bezel 12 which is secured in position by spinning over the flange 13 of the case. The bezel 12 operatively supports a rotary dial 14 having a manipulating knob 15 as a part thereof. The dial 14 is provided with suitable indicia 16 and the bezel is provided with an index 17 for the purpose of guiding the selection of the combinations which will operate the internal mechanism to release the shackle 18 which has a long leg 19 and a short leg 20.

In FIG. 2 the case 11 is shown with a bottom plate 21 secured therein on locating projections 22 which are provided on the internal wall of the case 11. The bottom plate 21 is held in position by staking the margins thereof adjacent the locating projections 22, and the staking is shown at 23. The bottom plate is provided with an upstanding guide tab 24 having an aperture 25 therein for receiving the long leg 19 of the shackle 18. The inner-end of the long leg 19 is provided with a pin or other means 26 which passes upwardly through a small lateral notch 27 in the guide 24 (FIG. 7) so that when the short leg 20 of the shackle 18 is clear of the case as in FIG. 4, the shackle may be rotated and at this time the pin 26 will swing over the upper side of the guide 24 to prevent the shackle from having its long leg 19 drop back into the case 11. It is also shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 that the bottom plate is provided with an upstanding anchor 28 along one margin to serve as a mounting for the trip spring 29. The trip spring is formed with an anchor loop 30 which is received in an opening in the anchor 28, thereby retaining the spring body between the anchor and the inner-surface of the case 11.

In FIGS. 2 and 4 the bottom plate 21 is provided with a spring leaf 31 on its underside, anchored at one end by a grommet 32 mounted in a suitable opening in the bottom plate. Spaced from the grommet 32, the bottom plate is formed with an aperture 33 so that a detent loop portion 34 on the spring leaf may project upwardly above the surface of the bottom plate 21 so as to resiliently and releasably catch in an annular groove 35 formed in the end portion of the short leg 20 of the shackle 18. Furthermore, the bottom plate 21 carries a rigidly mounted, upstanding shaft 36 in its center for operatively receiving the tumbler stack which will be presently described. The shaft 36 is provided with diametrically opposite locating grooves 37 for a purpose which will presently appear.

Turning now to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, it is shown that the dial having an integrally formed knob 15 is provided with a central recess 38 and with a projecting tubular extension 39 which forms a mounting locator for the bezel disc 40. The bezel disc 40 has a center aperture which is received over a portion of the extension 39 and is secured thereto for relative rotation by a locking ring 41. The topmost or operating tumbler disc 42 is then mounted on the outer end of the extension 39 which is then flanged outwardly at 43 to secure the tumbler 42 in position for rotation with the dial and relative to the bezel disc 40. As viewed in FIG. 6 the tumbler 42 is relatively rotatable in the bezel disc 40, and there is clearly shown the reverse side of the index 17 on the bezel 12. In the view of FIG. 7 the spring leaf 31 is clearly shown with its resilient loop 34 engaged in the notch 35 of the short leg 20 of the shackle 18, while the long leg 19 of the shackle is shown mounted in the upstanding guide 24 which is an integral part of the bottom plate 21. FIG. 7 also discloses the mounting of the bolt 44 on the inner end of the long leg 19 of the shackle. The bolt 44 is provided with a laterally opening notch 45 (FIG. 8) which is received in the groove 3 46 of the leg 19. The belt 44 is dropped into position (FIG. 8) with the slot received in the groove 46, and the mounting of the bezel 12 thereby retains the bolt 44 in position. The bolt has its end 47 extending laterally inwardly toward the group of tumblers which will now be described.

Turning now to FIG. 2 and with some reference to FIG. 7, it can be seen that a bottom tumbler 49 is rotatably mounted on the central shaft 36 and is spaced from the bottom plate 21 by a suitable spring 48. The bottom tumbler 49 is a flat disc having diametrically oppositely formed and upwardly projecting nibs 50 and 51. The tumbler rests on the outer end of spring 48 and is free to rotate on the center shaft 36 so that its gate notch 52 can move into a position for reception of the bolt end 47 therein. The tumbler 49 is also formed on its periphery with a series of spaced secondary notches which are of generally the same circumferential dimensions as the gate notch 52. In addition to the secondary notches the tumbler 49 is provided with a primary notch 54 for a purpose hereinafter to appear. The location of the nibs 50 and 51 on the bottom tumbler 49 with respect to a zero reference point will determine the particular combination number for the lock. A spacer element 55 having inwardly formed projections is positioned on the center shaft 36 with the projections in the groove 37 so that the spacer 55 will not rotate with the tumbler 49.

Turning now to FIG. 3, and with reference to FIG. 7, there is a second or middle tumbler 56 mounted on the shaft 36. The tumbler 56 is provided with a gate notch 57 and with a primary notch 54:: relatively spaced apart around the periphery. Other than the gate notch 57 and the primary notch 54a the middle tumbler 56 is formed with a smooth peripheral edge. In addition, the tumbler 56 is formed with one upwardly projecting nib 58, and one downwardly projecting nib 59. The nibs 58 and 59 are spaced radially from the center of the shaft 36 the same distance as are the nibs 50 and 51 on the bottom tumber 49. This relation places the nibs 5t] and 51 in the same circular path with the nib 59 on the middle tumbler 56. After the middle tumbler 56 is positioned over the shaft 36 a spacer ring 55 is disposed thereover and is prevented from rotating on the shaft.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 6 in particular, it is noted that the operating top tumbler 42 is provided with two downwardly projecting nibs 60 and 61, one nib 60 being shown in FIG. 7. In addition the tumbler 42 is provided with a gate notch 62, with a primary notch 54b and with a series of circumferentially spaced secondary notches in the remainder of its periphery. It has been pointed out heretofore that the particular location of the nibs on the respective tumblers will determine the numbers in the particular combination for any given lock.

In the operation of the presently improved combination lock it can be been seen that in the closed and locked position the short leg 20 of the shackle is positioned with its groove 35 located in the detent loop 34 of the spring leaf 31. At this time the long leg 19 of the shackle has its bolt 44 depressed relative to the tumblers 42, 56 and 49 so as to be out of engagement therewith. However, the bolt end 47 engages on the upper cam end 63 of the strip spring 29 to depress the trip spring. Adjacent the cam end 63 of the trip spring there is provided a tumbler engaging catch 64, which, as shown in FIG. 4, is adapted to engage in the recess 54, 54a and 54b when these recesses are properly aligned. The recesses do not come into alignment until the gate notches 52, 57 and 62 are also aligned. In the position of FIG. 2, the trip spring of course is held spaced from the tumblers, and the bolt 47 is prevented from allowing the shackle 18 to be withdrawn from the case 11 by one or more of the tumblers.

The alignment of the tumblers is carried out by rotating the dial 14 to the particular combination corresponding to the angular location of the nibs on the respective tumblers 42, 56, and 49. It can be appreciated that on rotating the dial 14 the actuating tumbler 42 needs to be rotated part of one turn to bring one of its nibs 60 or 61 into engagement with one upstanding nib 58 on the tumbler 56. Since nibs 60 and 61 on the tumbler 42 are located 180 apart, it will require only a maximum of one-half .1 complete rotation of the dial 14 to pick up the tumbler 56 by its nib 58. This is due to the fact that the nibs 6i) and 61 are located at the same radial distance from the center as the nib 58 on tumbler 56. The next manipulation of the dial 14 is to reverse the rotation which will result in engagement of the opposite nib on the tumbler 42 with the nib 58 on tumbler 56. Continued rotation of the dial 14 in the last mentioned direction will then result in simultaneous rotation of tumblers 42 and 56 in the same direction so that the downwardly formed nib 59 on tumbler 56 can engage one or the other of the nibs 50 and 51 on the bottom tumbler 49. The rotation in this direction will be to a number on the indicia 16 corresponding to the middle tumbler 56. The final manipulation is to reverse the dial rotation to the direction first selected which will result in the middle tumbler 56 being left in a given position with respect to the bottom tumbler 49 while the top tumbler 42 is being turned to the final number of the combination. Since there is a stack of three tumblers in the lock herein described, the combination will consist of three numbers. When this manipulation has been completed the gate recesses 52, 57 and 62 should all be aligned and all turned so that the bolt end 47 will enter all or" the recesses as the shackle 18 is pulled outwardly relative to the case 11.

It can be assumed in FIG. 4 that the respective tumblers have been aligned and that the shackle 18 has been pulled to its outward position since the bolt end 47 is in the gate 62 of the top tumbler 42. At this time the locating pin 26 on the long leg 19 of the shackle has passed through its slot 27 (FIG. 7) and is above the guide 24 so that the shackle 18 may be rotated about the axis of the leg 19 and will not thereafter permit the shackle to return within the case. Realignment of the pin 26 in the notch 27 will permit closing the lock. The trip spring cam end 63 will at this time be located in the path of the bolt end 47 on the shackle leg 19, and the catch 64 will be located within the recesses 54, 54a and 54b (FIG. 4). On pushing the shackle 18 into the case 11 the bolt 44 will rotate the group of tumblers in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4. At this time, the primary recesses will engage the catch 64 on the trip spring 29 and stress the trip spring so that there is a counter rotating force being stored in the tumblers.

Turning now to FIG. 5, it can be seen that as the bolt end 47 is about to move out of the aligning gates in the tumblers it engages the cam end 63 of the trip spring 29 so that as the bolt end 47 actually clears the tumbler gates the catch 64 is still engaged in the respective recesses 54. 54a and 54b for the purpose of imparting a spin to the tumblers to disrupt or scramble the combination alignment thereof. Since the tumblers have diflerent weights the trip spring will cause the tumblers to spin and travel difierent distances. However, the cam end 63 of the spring will not be released from its position under the bolt end 47 and will eventually return the trip spring to its normal starting position as seen in FIG. 2.

Turning now to FIG. 9, there is shown a conventional type of combination lock in which the short leg of the shackle is provided with a notch 71 which cooperates with the locking flange 72 on a rotary bolt 73. The bolt 73 is rotated to its normal starting position by the innerend of the shackle leg 70 pressing on the marginal projection 74 which is spaced from the locking flange 72. The opposite end 73 of the locking flange 72 cooperates with gate recesses in a group of tumblers shown generally at 75. Also in the lock of FIG. 9 there is a trip lever 76 which is pivotally mounted on a pin 77, and the trip lever 76 is formed with a slot 78 therein to permit the trip lever to shift lengthwise of the slot 78 as well as pivot about the pin 77. The trip lever 76 is provided with an upstanding catch 79 which is adapted to enter the recess 80 of the respective tumblers 75. The trip lever 76 is spring loaded in one direction by the arm 81 of a spring 82 Whose reaction arm 83 presses against the inside wall of the lock case. The long leg 84 of the shackle is provided with an actuator yoke 85 at its inner-end which engages under the catch 79 on the trip lever. As the yoke 85 on outward movement of the shackle leg 84 engages the catch 79, it pivots the trip lever 76 against the loading of the spring arm 31 so that on closing the lock the shackle end 70 will withdraw the bolt flange 72 from the aligned gates in the tumblers and permit the spring 81 to snap the trip lever 76 downwardly, thereby causing the catch 79 to give the tumbler assembly 75 a quick spin in the counter-clockwise direction. The quick spin imparted to the tumbler assembly 75 breaks up the gate alignment.

The mechanism of the preferred combination lock shown in FIGS. 2 through 8 is greatly simplified in view of the arrangement of the conventional combination lock shown in FIG. 9. Furthermore, and as indicated in FIG. 9, the older tumbler combination 75 consists of separate tumbler discs having one nib formed up and the opposite nib formed down. Also, these tumblers have smooth peripheral edges except for the gates and the recesses. The combination of a nib formed up and down on the same tumbler requires that the tumblers be turned at least 360 in order to bring two adjacent tumblers into coordination, and requires two turns or more than 720 to begin to coordinate three tumblers. The increase in the number of turns in the conventional lock slows down the manipulation thereof in the opening procedure. ln the preferred form of the lock it can be appreciated now that the nib formation on the respective tumblers makes it possible to reduce the number of turns of the dial to a minimum. That is to say, that in the preferred combination lock, except for one complete starting turn, the dial can be moved directly left and right to the combination numbers which will align the gates in the tumblers for releasing the shackle.

The improved combination lock herein before described is of exceedingly simple construction and easily and conveniently operated. The mechanism of the preferred lock is more compactly arranged in comparison to a conventional lock, and the tumbler means shown and described are well adapted for use in any similar type of combination lock in order to simplify the opening operation. While a preferred arrangement and assembly of parts and'components has been disclosed herein, it should be understood that variations thereof and equivalents are intended to be included in and covered by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a combination lock, a casing, a long and short legged shackle movable relative to said casing to locked position in which said long and short legs project into said casing and to unlocked position in which said short leg is outside said casing, bolt means operatively mounted in said casing upon said long shackle leg, a stack of tumblers rotatably mounted in said casing adjacent said bolt means and said long leg of said shackle, each tumbler having a gate notch alignable with said bolt means and movable to permit said shackle to move to unlocked position, means to initially move said tumblers to align the gate notches, and resilient trip means in said casing engaging said tumblers and being operably stressed responsive to rotation of said tumblers by said shackle being moved toward locked position, said shackle upon reaching substantially said locked position releasing said tumblers to said resilient trip means, and releasing the stress in said trip means for spinning said tumblers to scramble the gate notch alignment.

2. In a combination lock, a casing, a long and short legged shackle movable relative to said casing to locked position in which said long and short legs project into said casing and to unlocked position in which said short leg is outside said casing, a bolt carried by said long leg, a stack of three tumblers rotatably mounted in said casing in position to obstruct said bolt and prevent movement of said shackle to unlocked position, each tumbler having a gate notch, and each of the outside tumblers having a pair of nibs projecting toward the center tumbler and the center tumbler having a nib thereon projecting toward each of the outside tumblers, means to rotate said tumblers to align the gate notches therein at a position adjacent said bolt so that said long leg may be moved to shackle unlocked position, and trip means in said casing responsive to the movement of said shackle to locked position for engaging and spinning said stack of tumblers to scramble said gate notch alignment.

3. In a combination lock, a casing, a long and short legged shackle movable relative to said casing to locked position in which said long and short legs project into said casing and to unlocked position in which said short leg is outside said casing, a bolt carried by said long leg, a stack of three tumblers rotatably mounted in said casing in position to obstruct said bolt and prevent movement of said shackle to unlocked position, each tumbler having a gate notch and certain of said tumblers having primary notches, and each of the outside tumblers having a pair of nibs projecting toward the center tumbler and the center tumbler having a nib thereon projecting toward each of the outside tumblers, means to rotate said tumblers to align the gate notches therein at a position adjacent said bolt so that said long leg may be moved to shackle unlocked position, and trip means in said casing engaging in said primary notches for spinning said tumblers, said tripping means being responsive to the movement of said shackle to locked position for engaging and spinning said stack of tumblers to scramble said gate notch alignment, said bolt engaging said trip means and positioning the latter out of nitch engagement to permit tumbler rotation to align said gate notches.

4. The combination lock of claim 3 in which said trip means is a spring having a cam portion engaged by said bolt, and a catch portion engageable in said tumbler primary notches for scrambling the gate notch alignment.

5. The combination lock of claim 3 including a back plate in said casing, a shaft on said back plate to rotatably support said stack of tumblers, guide means on said back plate to direct the movement of said long shackle leg to a path fixed relative to said stack of tumblers, and means in said housing spaced from said long shackle leg and adjacent said back plate to secure said trip means in operative position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 176,876 5/1876 Miller -305 1,000,889 8/1911 Bennett 70-25 2,133,528 10/1938 Bell 70-25 2,137,967 11/1938 Stone 70-25 2,148,226 2/1939 Aldeen 70-25 2,245,741 6/ 1941 Winning 70-25 MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner.

E. J. MCCARTHY, Assistant Examiner. 

